Noribogaine compositions

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are noribogaine compositions comprising a very high level of the 2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and 18(R) enantiomer and not more than 0.5 wt % of ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/367,310, filed on Jul. 23, 2010 and U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 61/419,766, filed on Dec. 3, 2010, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to noribogaine compositions. In one embodiment,the noribogaine compositions comprise at least 95% of the noribogaine asthe 2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and 18(R) enantiomer and further wherein saidcompositions comprise not more than 0.5% by weight (or 0.5 wt %)ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine. In anotherembodiment, said compositions comprise not more than 0.3 wt % ibogainerelative to the total amount of noribogaine. In another embodiment, saidcomposition comprises no more than 0.1 wt % ibogaine relative to thetotal amount of noribogaine.

STATE OF THE ART

Noribogaine is a well known member of the ibogaine family of alkaloidsand is sometimes referred to as 12-hydroxyibogaine. U.S. Pat. No.2,813,873 claims noribogaine albeit as “12-O-demethylibogaine” whileproviding an incorrect structural formula for ibogaine. The structure ofnoribogaine has now been determined and found to combine the features oftyrptamine, tetrahydrohavaine and indolazepines. Noribogaine can bedepicted by the following formula:

where the configuration at the 2, 4, 5, 6 and 18 atoms are 2(R), 4(S),5(S), 6(S) and 18(R).

Noribogaine and its pharmaceutically acceptable salts have recentlyreceived significant attention as a non-addictive alkaloid useful intreating drug dependency (U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,456) and as a potentanalgesic (U.S. Pat. No. 7,220,737). Both of these patents areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Conventionally, noribogaine is prepared by 0-demethylation of naturallyoccurring ibogaine:

which is isolated from Tabernanth iboga, a shrub of West Africa.Demethylation may be accomplished by conventional techniques such as byreaction with boron tribromide/methylene chloride at room temperaturefollowed by conventional purification.

Ibogaine possesses hallucinogenic properties and is a Schedule1-controlled substance in the USA. Accordingly, methods for preparingnoribogaine from ibogaine require high levels of assurance thatcontamination with unacceptable amounts of ibogaine is avoided. However,noribogaine so prepared has not been reported as being substantiallyfree of ibogaine (e.g., not more than 0.5 wt % relative to noribogaine).At best, U.S. Pat. No. 6,348,456 claims an essentially pure noribogainecompound but fails to disclose any methods for purification let alonewhat the phrase “essentially pure” encompassed or, for that matter, thelevel of ibogaine remaining in the composition. The synthesis ofnoribogaine from ibogaine was reported in U.S. Pat. No. 2,813,873.However, the '873 patent is also silent as to the purity of thenoribogaine obtained in that synthetic process.

Accordingly, there is an ongoing need to provide a noribogaine which isenantiomerically enriched (greater than 95% of the 2(R), 4(S), 5(S),6(S) and 18(R) enantiomer) and substantially free of ibogaine (e.g., notmore than 0.5 wt % ibogaine relative to the amount of noribogaine).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides noribogaine compositions which areenantiomerically enriched and substantially free of ibogaine. Suchcompositions provide a significant breakthrough in the treatment ofaddiction and/or pain as the compositions will not contain unacceptableamounts of ibogaine and are enantiomerically enriched.

In one of its composition aspects, this invention is directed to acomposition comprising noribogaine wherein at least 95% of thenoribogaine is present as the 2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and 18(R)enantiomer and further wherein said composition comprises not more than0.5 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.

In another of its composition aspects, this invention is directed to acomposition comprising noribogaine wherein at least 95% of thenoribogaine is present as the 2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and 18(R)enantiomer and further wherein said composition comprises not more than0.3 wt % ibogaine contamination relative to the total amount ofnoribogaine.

In some embodiments, the amount of ibogaine contained in the noribogainecompositions is not more than 0.1 wt % ibogaine relative to the totalamount of noribogaine.

In some embodiments, at least 98%, preferably, at least 99%, and morepreferably, at least 99.5%, of the noribogaine is present as the 2(R),4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and 18(R) enantiomer.

In some embodiments, the noribogaine of this invention is bound to asolid support optionally through a cleavable linker. The solid supportcould be a resin or a bead.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to compositions comprising noribogaine and,in particular, compositions comprising highly pure noribogaine as the2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and 18(R) enantiomer. However, prior todescribing this invention in greater detail, the following terms willfirst be defined.

It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particularembodiments described, as such may, of course, vary. It is also to beunderstood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to belimiting, since the scope of the present invention will be limited onlyby the appended claims.

It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, thesingular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “apharmaceutically acceptable excipient” includes a plurality of suchexcipients.

Definitions

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. As used herein the followingterms have the following meanings.

As used herein, the term “comprising” or “comprises” is intended to meanthat the compositions and methods include the recited elements, but notexcluding others. “Consisting essentially of” when used to definecompositions and methods, shall mean excluding other elements of anyessential significance to the combination for the stated purpose. Thus,a composition consisting essentially of the elements as defined hereinwould not exclude other materials or steps that do not materially affectthe basic and novel characteristic(s) of the claimed invention.“Consisting of” shall mean excluding more than trace elements of otheringredients and substantial method steps. Embodiments defined by each ofthese transition terms are within the scope of this invention.

As used herein, the term “noribogaine” refers to the alkaloidnoribogaine including all enantiomers thereof, and also includespharmaceutically acceptable salts of each thereof. Of particularinterest is the enantiomer depicted by the formula:

where the configuration at the 2, 4, 5, 6 and 18 atoms are 2(R), 4(S),5(S), 6(S) and 18(R).

The term “solid support” refers to a material having a rigid orsemi-rigid surface which contains or can be derivatized to containreactive functionality which covalently links noribogaine to the surfacethereof through a cleavable linker. Such materials are well known in theart and include, by way of example, silica, synthetic silicates,biogenic silicates, porous glass, hydrogels, silicate-containingminerals, synthetic polymers, polystyrene, polypropylene,polyacrylamide, polyethylene glycol, polyacrylamide and copolymersthereof including copolymers of polystyrene/polyethylene glycol andpolyacrylamide/polyethylene glycol, and the like. Other nonlimitingexamples of solid supports include anion exchange resins. Such resinscontain a bound positively charged group and exchange anions.Nonlimiting examples of anion exchange resins include, AMBERLITE® TypeI, AMBERLITE® Type II, DOWEX® Type I, and DOWEX® Type II, anion exchangeresins.

As used herein, the terms “cleavable linking groups” refer to linkinggroups, which are a chemical group or a covalent bond which covalentlyattaches at one end to a solid support and at the other end tonoribogaine. At least one of the covalent bonds of the cleavable linkinggroup which attaches noribogaine to the solid support can be readilybroken by specific chemical or enzymatic reactions, thereby providingfor noribogaine free of the solid support. The chemical or enzymaticreactions employed to break the covalent bond of the linking arm areselected so as to be specific for bond breakage thereby preventingunintended reactions occurring elsewhere on the compound. The cleavablelinking group is selected relative to noribogaine formed on the solidsupport so as to prevent premature cleavage of noribogaine from thesolid support as well as not to interfere with any of the proceduresemployed during synthesis on the support. Suitable cleavable linkinggroups are well known in the art, and may include such groups ascarbonate groups, carbamate groups, amide groups, and the like. In apreferred embodiment, the cleavable linking group contains no more than10 atoms. More preferably, the cleavable linker contains from 1 to 4carbon atoms and from 2 to 4 heteroatoms selected from oxygen, nitrogen,sulfur, S(O) and S(O)₂.

As used herein, the term “reaction conditions” refers to details underwhich a chemical reaction proceeds. Examples of reaction conditionsinclude, but are not limited to, one or more of following: reactiontemperature, solvent, pH, pressure, reaction time, mole ratio ofreactants, the presence of a base or acid, or catalyst, etc. Reactionconditions for known reactions are generally known to those skilled inthe art.

As used herein, the term “reducing agent” refers to a reagent which candonate electrons in an oxidation-reduction reaction, allowing hydrogento be added to a molecule. Suitable reducing agents include lithiumaluminum hydride, sodium borohydride, sodium cyanoborohydride, and thelike.

As used herein, the term “reductive amination conditions” refers to thereaction between an amine and a carbonyl compound to form an imine,which is subsequently reduced to an amine using a reducing agent. Theintermediate imine can either be isolated and purified prior to thereducing step, or used in the reducing step without prior isolation orpurification.

As used herein, the term “pharmaceutically acceptable salt” refers topharmaceutically acceptable, non toxic, salts derived from a variety oforganic and inorganic counter ions well known in the art and include, byway of example only, when the molecule contains an acidic functionality,counter ions such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, ammonium,tetraalkylammonium, and the like, and when the molecule contains a basicfunctionality, counter ions such as chloride, bromide, tartrate,mesylate, acetate, maleate, oxalate and the like.

As used herein, the term “protecting group” or “Pg” refers to well knownfunctional groups which, when bound to a functional group, render theresulting protected functional group inert to the reaction conditions tobe conducted on other portions of the compound and which, at theappropriate time, can be reacted to regenerate the originalfunctionality under “deprotection conditions”. The identity of theprotecting group is not critical and is selected to be compatible withthe remainder of the molecule. In one embodiment, the protecting groupis an “amino protecting group” which protects the amino functionality ofibogaine or noribogaine during the reactions described herein. Examplesof conventional amino protecting groups include, for instance, benzyl,acetyl, oxyacetyl, carbonyloxybenzyl (Cbz), and the like. In anotherembodiment, the protecting group is a “hydroxy protecting group” whichprotects the hydroxyl functionality of noribogaine. Examples of hydroxylprotecting groups include, for instance, benzyl, p-methoxybenzyl,p-nitrobenzyl, allyl, trityl, dialkylsilylethers, such as dimethylsilylether, and trialkylsilyl ethers such as trimethylsilyl ether,triethylsilyl ether, and t-butyldimethylsilyl ether; esters such asbenzoyl, acetyl, phenylacetyl, formyl, mono-, di-, and trihaloacetylsuch as chloroacetyl, dichloroacetyl, trichloroacetyl, trifluoroacetyl;and carbonates such as methyl, ethyl, 2,2,2-trichloroethyl, allyl,benzyl, and p-nitrophenyl. Additional examples of hydroxy protectinggroups may be found in standard reference works such as Greene and Wuts,Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis., 2d Ed., 1991, John Wiley &Sons, and McOmie Protective Groups in Organic Chemistry, 1975, PlenumPress. Methods for protecting and deprotecting the phenolic hydroxylgroup of the compounds disclosed herein can be found in the art, andspecifically in Greene and Wuts, supra, and the references citedtherein.

Preparation of Noribogaine Substantially Free of Ibogaine

Noribogaine compositions of this invention can be prepared fromibogaine. Noribogaine containing not more than 0.5% ppm ibogaine can beprepared using solid support synthesis as described below. As thiscompound is prepared from the natural product ibogaine and since thereactions described below do not involve any of the stereochemicalcenters, noribogaine so prepared will be least 95% of the 2(R), 4(S),5(S), 6(S) and 18(R) enantiomer and likely to be 100% of thatenantiomer.

In the case of solid support synthesis of noribogaine, the noribogainecompositions of this invention can be prepared from readily availablestarting materials using the following general methods and procedures.It will be appreciated that where typical or preferred processconditions (i.e., reaction temperatures, times, mole ratios ofreactants, solvents, pressures, etc.) are given, other processconditions can also be used unless otherwise stated. Optimum reactionconditions may vary with the particular reactants or solvent used, butsuch conditions can be determined by one skilled in the art by routineoptimization procedures.

Additionally, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art,conventional protecting groups may be necessary to prevent certainfunctional groups from undergoing undesired reactions. Suitableprotecting groups for various functional groups as well as suitableconditions for protecting and deprotecting particular functional groupsare well known in the art. For example, numerous protecting groups aredescribed in T. W. Greene and G. M. Wuts, Protecting Groups in OrganicSynthesis, Fourth Edition, Wiley, N.Y., 2007, and references citedtherein.

It is contemplated that noribogaine can be prepared and/or purified fromibogaine by utilizing solid support as shown in the following Schemes,where PG represents an amine protecting group, LG represents a leavinggroup (e.g. a halo or a mesylate, tosylate, or such other group), Lrepresents a cleavable linking group (e.g. a carbonyl compound such as acarbonate or carbamate) and the shaded circle represents a solidsupport.

In the following Schemes, the 0-demethylation of the aryl methoxy groupto yield the corresponding phenol can be accomplishing using anysuitable method known in the art. Suitable reagents include a Lewis acid(e.g. BBr₃, AlCl₃), a nucleophile (e.g. RS—, N₃—, SCN—), NaCN at high pH(e.g. pH 12), and the like. In some embodiments, the 0-demethylationshould be performed without affecting the linkage to the solid supportor altering the stereochemistry of the stereochemical centers on themolecule. Suitable reagents can be readily ascertained by one of skillin the art and can be found, for example, in T. W. Greene and G. M.Wuts, Protecting Groups in Organic Synthesis, Fourth Edition, Wiley,N.Y., 2007 (see, e.g., the reactivity charts at pages 1006-1008 and1022-1032), and references cited therein.

Noribogaine 5 can be prepared and purified from ibogaine 10 by any oneof the routes shown in Scheme 1. Noribogaine, compound 5, isdifferentiated from ibogaine by virtue of the fact that the methoxygroup of ibogaine is converted to a hydroxyl group in noribogaine. Inone embodiment, the indole amine of ibogaine can be protected using anamine protecting group to yield compound 1, followed by either tandem0-demethylation and removal of the protecting group using L-SELECTRIDE®,for example, or sequential 0-demethylation and removal of the protectinggroup to yield noribogaine 5. In addition, in one embodiment,noribogaine can be directly prepared and purified from the0-demethylation of ibogaine using methods known in the art and thenpurified by appending noribogaine to a solid support (compound 12 or13), washing contaminants, cleaving the linking group L, and recoveringthe noribogaine 5. In the above syntheses, one or more of thenoribogaine or intermediates shown above can be purified using standardpurification techniques known in the art (e.g. column chromatography,HPLC, and the like). Compounds of formula 11 are commercially availableor can be synthesized in one or two steps from commercially availablestarting materials (see, e.g. commercially available resins fromSigma-Aldrich®).

In another embodiment, noribogaine can be prepared and purified fromibogaine in the manner described in Scheme 2 below:

wherein Pg is hydrogen or an amino protecting group and the shadedcircle represents a solid support.

Specifically, in Scheme 2, amino protected ibogaine, compound 1, iscontacted with boron tribromide or other conventional demethylatingagent in e.g., methylene chloride using conditions well known in the artto yield the amino protected noribogaine, compound 2.

In Scheme 2, attachment of amino protected noribogaine, compound 2, to asolid support is accomplished by use of a chloroformate/solid support,compound 3, under conventional conditions to yield compound 4 whereinthe carbonate group is shown for illustrative purposes only as thecleavable linking group. Other cleavable linking groups can likewise beused in Scheme 2. As amino protected ibogaine does not contain afunctional group reactive with compound 3, only amino protectednoribogaine, compound 2, will react with the solid support and yieldcompound 4. Repeated washing of compound 4 will remove a portion ofamino protected ibogaine contaminating the sample of amino protectednoribogaine used in this reaction. Furthermore, at any time, a smallportion of the solid support can be removed to provide a sample ofnoribogaine (after cleavage and deprotection). The sample can then beanalyzed for purity relative to any ibogaine present by conventionalmethods such as GC/MS, NMR, C¹³-NMR, etc.

Upon achieving the desired level of purity of noribogaine relative toany contaminating ibogaine, noribogaine, can be recovered from the solidsupport by cleavage of the cleavable linker and subsequent deprotectionof the amino group. Both cleavage and deprotection are well known in theart.

As desired, exceptionally pure noribogaine, compound 5, can be obtainedby repeating the process of forming the amino protected noribogaine,compound 2, binding compound 2 to a solid support via the hydroxyl groupof amino protected noribogaine and washing a portion of contaminatingibogaine from the solid support. By repeating this process as often asnecessary and preferably no more than 5 times, it is contemplated thatnoribogaine compositions having not more than 0.5 wt %, not more than0.3 wt %, or not more than 0.1 wt % ibogaine relative to the amount ofnoribogaine present in the composition can be prepared.

In another embodiment, the solid support is an anion exchange resin,where noribogaine is ionically bound thereto. Such a resin allowsuncharged ibogaine to pass through by simple elution. Nonlimitingexamples of anion exchange resins include solid supports, preferablythose derivatized with quaternary ammonium containing moieties, such astrialkylbenzyl ammonium containing moieties. Suitable trialkylbenzylammonium groups include trimethylbenzyl ammonium,dimethyl-2-hydroxyethylbenzyl ammonium, and the like. Nonlimitingexamples of commercially available anion exchange resins includeAMBERLITE® Type I, AMBERLITE® Type II, DOWEX® Type I, and DOWEX® TypeII, anion exchange resins. Recovery of noribogaine by pH adjustment isknown to one well-versed in the art.

Alternatively, noribogaine hydrochloride was prepared from ibogainehydrochloride by first converting it to a free base, ibogaine, bytreating with methanol followed by treatment with a base such aspotassium carbonate in a solvent such as methylene chloride. Ibogainewas then converted to noribogaine hydrobromide by treating with borontribromide or other conventional demethylating agent in a solvent suchas methylene chloride followed by quenching with methanol to givenoribogaine hydrobromide. Noribogaine hydrobromide was then converted tothe free base by treating with a base such as potassium carbonate in asolvent such as methylene chloride, followed by purification oversilica, and then by conversion to the hydrochloride salt using HCl in asolvent such as isopropanol as shown in Scheme 3 below.

Another method of demethylating is also contemplated as shown in Scheme4 below.

Use of BCl₃ instead of BBr₃ for removing the methyl ether iscontemplated to have several advantages. For example, it provides thenoribogaine hydrochloride in one step, without having to convert thenoribogaine hydrobromide obtained, when BBr₃ is used, into thehydrochloride salt. Furthermore, it is contemplated that using BCl₃substantially reduces the halogenation of the aromatic ring as obtainedwhen BBr₃ is used.

In one embodiment, the amount of ibogaine in a noribogaine compositioncan be determined by starting with a ¹⁴C enriched methoxy group onibogaine. The amount of ¹⁴C over background in the final composition canbe correlated to the amount of ibogaine in the noribogaine compositionwhich can then be used to validate that the synthetic protocols employedare at or below the maximum amount of ibogaine permitted in thenoribogaine composition. A ¹⁴C enriched methoxy group on ibogaine canreadily be prepared by methylating the 12-hydroxyl group of noribogainewith an enriched ¹⁴C methylating agent. Techniques for determining theamount of a ¹⁴C in a composition are well known in the art and detectionlimits are below 1 ppt.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modificationsof the above exemplary methods, both to materials and methods, may bepracticed without departing from the scope of the current invention.

The following synthetic and biological examples are offered toillustrate this invention and are not to be construed in any way aslimiting the scope of this invention. Unless otherwise stated, alltemperatures are in degrees Celsius.

Compositions of Noribogaine

This invention provides noribogaine compositions which areenantiomerically enriched and substantially free of ibogaine.

In one embodiment, this invention provides a composition comprisingnoribogaine wherein at least 95% of the noribogaine is present as the2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and 18(R) enantiomer and further wherein saidcomposition comprises not more than 0.5 wt % ibogaine relative to thetotal amount of noribogaine. In another embodiment, said compositioncomprises not more than 0.3 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amountof noribogaine. In another embodiment, said composition comprises notmore than 0.1 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.

In another embodiment, this invention provides a composition comprisingnoribogaine wherein at least 98% of the noribogaine is present as the2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and 18(R) enantiomer and further wherein saidcomposition comprises not more than 0.5 wt % ibogaine relative to thetotal amount of noribogaine. In another embodiment, this inventionprovides a composition comprising noribogaine wherein at least 98% ofthe noribogaine is present as the 2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and 18(R)enantiomer and further wherein said composition comprises not more than0.3 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine. Inanother embodiment, said composition comprises not more than 0.1 wt %ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.

EXAMPLES

In the examples below, the abbreviations have their generally acceptedmeaning.

Example 1—Synthesis and Purification of Noribogaine from Ibogaine

Example 1 illustrates one method for the synthesis and purification ofnoribogaine from ibogaine which method follows Scheme 5 below:

Specifically, in Scheme 5, ibogaine is contacted with a stoichiometricexcess of benzyl chloroformate in an inert solvent such as methylenechloride. The reaction mixture further contains at least astoichiometric equivalent of diisopropylethylamine relative to ibogaineso as to scavenge the acid generated during the reaction. The reactionis maintained at room temperature under an inert atmosphere until thereaction is substantially complete as evidenced by, for example, thinlayer chromatography. At which time, an O-demethylation reagent (e.g.boron tribromide or aluminum trichloride), or preferably astoichiometric excess thereof, is added to the reaction mixture which isthen maintained under conditions (e.g. room temperature) wherein themethoxy group of ibogaine has been converted to the hydroxyl group ofnoribogaine.

The hydroxyl group generated above is then employed as a complementaryfunctionality for attachment of a solid support. In particular, anexcess of chloroformate bound to a solid support is combined withN-CBz-noribogaine under conventional conditions wherein a carbonate bondis formed. Chloroformate bound to a solid support can be prepared from ahydroxy-bearing polymer support (e.g. hydroxymethyl)polystyrene orpolymer-bound benzyl alcohol, both commercially available fromSigma-Aldrich®) and carbonyl dichloride. As CBz-ibogaine does notreadily react under these O-demethylation conditions, it will remain inthe solution phase of the reaction mixture and can be washed from thereaction mixture by conventional techniques including placing the solidsupport into a column and passing excess solvent through the column.

In one particular example, 1 kg of solid support containingCBz-noribogaine is loaded onto a column. The stopper of the column ispartially opened so that a flow rate through the column of 0.5 litersper hour is maintained. Methylene chloride is continuously fed to thetop of the column and recovered at the base of the column. The recoveredmethylene chloride is removed to provide residual CBz-ibogaine. Aportion of the solid support is then loaded into a hydrogenation vesseltogether with methanol and a catalytic amount of palladium on carbon.Hydrogenation is continued under elevated pressure for approximately 5hours. The reaction is then stopped and the methanol recovered andremoved, thus yielding noribogaine. Additional purification ofnoribogaine can be achieved by HPLC as desired.

Example 2—Synthesis and Purification of Noribogaine Hydrochloride fromIbogaine Hydrochloride

Step 1. Purification of Crude Ibogaine Hydrochloride and Release ofIbogaine Free Base from the Purified Material

A 10 L flange reactor was charged under nitrogen with ibogaine (428.5 g)and ethanol (4.30 L). The resulting suspension was heated to 65-75° C.for 1 h 20 minutes and allowed to cool to room temperature understirring overnight. A pale buff suspension was obtained. The solid wascollected by filtration and washed with methylene chloride (DCM, 2×0.5L). The filter cake was dried under nitrogen until of constant weight(279 g). The solid was stored under nitrogen and in exclusion of lightfor 5 days. In-process control (IPC) by high performance liquidchromatography (HPLC) showed ibogaine (97.38%), ibogamine (2.31%) andibogaline (0.31%). The filtrates were concentrated in vacuum to drynessto afford a pale brown solid (72 g). IPC by HPLC showed ibogaine(59.49%), ibogamine (17.31%), ibogaline (20.12%) and unknowns (total3.04%). The purified ibogaine hydrochloride (279 g, 97.38%) wassuspended under nitrogen in DCM (2.85 L). 25 Wt % aqueous potassiumcarbonate solution (470 ml) was added and the phases were mixedvigorously for 10 minutes. The phases were separated. The aqueous layerwas extracted with further DCM (2×720 ml). The aqueous layer wasdiscarded. The combined organic phases were washed with water (0.73 L),split into two almost equal portions and concentrated in vacuum at 50°C. to afford a pale brown foam. The foam was dried under vacuum toconstant weight. IPC by HPLC showed ibogaine (93.15%), ibogamine(2.28%), ibogaline (0.31%) and unknowns (total 4.26%).

Step 2. Conversion of Ibogaine Free Base to Noribogaine Hydrobromide

A 3 L flange flask fitted with a thermometer, gas bubbler, overheadstirrer, Schott addition bottle and scrubber was charged under nitrogenatmosphere with methylene chloride (400 ml) and BBr₃ in methylenechloride (1 M, 368 ml). The mixture was cooled to 0-5° C. understirring. A Schott bottle was charged with ibogaine free base (75 g,MLR/629/73-1) and methylene chloride (300 ml) to afford a pale brownsolution. The bottle was purged with nitrogen, covered in foil andconnected to the flange reactor via a pressure addition line. Thesolution was added slowly to the reactor over 110 minutes. Uponaddition, a suspension was formed. When the addition was complete, thereactor content was allowed to warm up to room temperature overnight.The mixture was cooled to 0-5° C. and quenched with methanol, allowed towarm up to room temperature and stirred overnight. The solid wascollected by filtration, washed with DCM and dried (yield: 81%).

It is contemplated that the reaction of ibogaine free base with BBr₃gives a brominated side product, the formation of which can be avoidedby using BCl₃ instead of BBr₃ which directly gives the corresponding HClsalt.

Step 3. Conversion of Noribogaine hydrobromide to NoribogaineHydrochloride

A 10 L flange separating funnel fitted with a nitrogen inlet, gasbubbler, overhead stirrer, thermometer and dropping funnel was chargednoribogaine hydrobromide (214.35 g), MeOH (1.95 L) and methylenechloride (4.18 L) to afford a suspension. Under stirring and nitrogenatmosphere K₂CO₃ (234 g, 3.0 eq) dissolved in water (1.65 L) was addedover one hour. During the addition the internal temperature rose from18.9° C. to 23.2° C. Stirring was continued until a two phase system wasobtained. The lower organic phase was separated. The upper aqueous phasewas extracted with methylene chloride (2×1.46 L). The combined organicphases were washed with water (1×1.95 L). The organic layer was splitinto two portions, each portion was and concentrated in vacuo to drynessto afford a pale brown solid (1×88.9 g, 1×79.3). The solids were andsubjected to a chromatographic purification using flash silica gel (7.20kg, 43 wt eq.) eluting with methylenechloride/acetonitrile/triethylamine (1:1:0.5); a total of 16 fractions(5 L each) were collected of which fractions 5-16 showed desired productby TLC and HPLC. Based on the results of use test work for the saltformation, fractions 7-11 were combined and concentrated to dryness toafford a beige-colored solid (136 g). The solid was charged to a 5 Lflange flask fitted with a nitrogen inlet, gas bubbler, overheadstirrer, dropping funnel and thermometer. Isopropanol (3.27 L) was addedand the mixture was heated under stirring and nitrogen atmosphere to45-55° C. over one hour to afford a clear solution. Isopropanol/HCl (5M, 128.6 ml, 1.4 eq) was added over one hour. Precipitation of anoff-white solid was observed and the suspension was allowed to coolunder stirring to room temperature overnight. The mixture was furtherchilled to 0-5° C. After 30 minutes the solid was collected byfiltration and washed with dichloromethane (2×0.49 L) and sucked dry toconstant weight under nitrogen purge. The solid was further dried undervacuum at 60° C. for four days.

The yield Noribogaine free base was 168.2 g (99%), that of noribogainefree base (purified) was 136 g, (81%), and that of noribogainehydrochloride was 150 g, (98%). The overall yield (based on the steps offree base formation, purification, and salt formation) was 79%.Analytical results were as follows. Pre final drying there wasnoribogaine hydrochloride (99.3%), a by-product (0.5%), and ibogaine(0.1%). After 3 days drying, there was noribogaine hydrochloride(99.10%), the by-product (0.33%), ibogaine (0.07%), ibogamine (0.08%),and unknowns (total 0.42%). Another batch gave noribogaine hydrochloride(99.34%), ibogaine (0.02%), ibogamine (<0.01%), and ibogaline (0.02%).

The above process demonstrates that noribogaine substantially free ofibogaine is prepared according to this invention. While this processprovides noribogaine that is substantially free of ibogaine, a smallamount of ibogaine, approximately 0.02 wt % or 200 ppm relative tonoribogaine, was still observed in the noribogaine thus prepared viaibogaine.

What is claimed is:
 1. A composition comprising noribogaine wherein atleast 95% of the noribogaine is present as the 2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S)and 18(R) enantiomer and further wherein said composition comprises notmore than 0.5 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.2. The composition of claim 1, wherein said composition comprises notmore than 0.3 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.3. The composition of claim 1, wherein said composition comprises notmore than 0.1 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.4. The composition of claim 1, wherein said composition comprises lessthan 800 ppm ibogaine.
 5. The composition of claim 1, wherein at least98% of the noribogaine is present as the 2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S) and18(R) enantiomer.
 6. A composition comprising noribogaine wherein atleast 98% of the noribogaine is present as the 2(R), 4(S), 5(S), 6(S)and 18(R) enantiomer and further wherein said composition comprises notmore than 0.5 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.7. The composition of claim 6, wherein said composition comprises notmore than 0.3 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.8. The composition of claim 6, wherein said composition comprises notmore than 0.1 wt % ibogaine relative to the total amount of noribogaine.9. A composition comprising noribogaine hydrochloride and isopropanol.10. A composition comprising noribogaine, hydrochloric acid at aconcentration of 5M, and isopropanol, wherein the composition has atemperature of from 45 to 55° C.
 11. A composition comprisingnoribogaine, silica gel, methylene chloride, acetonitrile and an organicbase.
 12. A composition comprising solid noribogaine hydrochloride andisopropanol.